SO, did you catch UFC 75?

History was made in London as the Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champ Quinton “Rampage” Jackson squared off against Pride FC middleweight kingpin Dan “Hollywood” Henderson (despite the difference in naming conventions, both are champs in the 205-pound division). Jackson scored a unanimous decision to become the first undisputed mixed martial arts champ.

That made me really happy because I was rooting for Rampage, who has to be the funniest guy in MMA heh

Here’s a clip of his post-fight interview courtesy of SPIKE Powered by IFILM.

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By Recah Trinidad
Inquirer

LOS ANGELES, California–Assured of a crack at a world crown, tireless Bert Batawang took a glimpse at his would-be opponent on a borrowed laptop computer and was pleasantly jolted at what he saw: there was nothing truly superior or extraordinary in the fighting style of IBF light flyweight champion Ulises Solis of Mexico.

Batawang, 35, had actually expected to see a sharper, more menacing Solis who last Aug. 4 stopped Rodel Mayol of the Philippines in a title bout in Chicago.

“Malaki tsansa (We have a big chance),” Batawang bared after a lunch of steaming Thai chicken noodle soup following another tough grind that saw him through a punishing 20-round regimen at the Wild Card gym here.

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THAT was the interesting question posed by a caller on Canada’s “In this Corner with Russ Anber” boxing show.

View the YouTube video clip to find out Anber’s answer.

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WHEW, talk about extreme sports

Check out these cool video clips of women strutting their stuff in the Professional Kiteboard Riders Association World Tour 2007.

Here’s the clip from the Fuerteventura, Brazil stop.

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By Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–Unheralded Filipino FIDE Master Virgilio Vuelban stole the thunder from the grandmasters recently by topping the tough Rome International Chess Festival in the Italian capital.

Vuelban, 35, who has an ELO rating of 2332, beat two GMs in tallying 5.5 points on five wins and a draw in the six-round Swiss tourney.

Among Vuelban’s victims were top seed Russian GM Oleg Korneev and Bulgarian GM Milko Povchev.

Just last Saturday, International Master Rolly Martinez earned his first GM norm when he finished fourth in the 27th Chess Festival in Bratto, Italy. He pooled 6.5 points.

Martinez, the solo overnight leader, dropped his ninth and final match to eventual champion GM Vladimir Burmakin of Russia. Marlon Bernardino, Contributor

Final Standings

5.5 points — FM Virgilio Vuelban (RP); 5.0 — GM Igors Rausis (Czech Republic), IM Milan Mrdja (Croatia); 4.5 — GM Oleg Korneev (Russia), GM Igor Naumkin (Russia), IM Bogomil Andonov (Bulgaria), GM Milko Povchev (Bulgaria)

By Marlon Bernardino
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–Filipino International Master Rolly Martinez yielded to Russian Grandmaster Vladimir Burmakin in the ninth round and settled for fourth place in the 27th International Chess Festival in Bratto, Italy, Saturday.

Martinez lost after 40 moves of the Nimzo Indian Defense and was stuck at 6.5 points, dropping into a tie for 3rd to 8th places with GM Vladimir Epishin of Russia, GM Sergei Tiviakov (Netherlands), Jacob Aagaard (Scotland) and GM Alberto David (Luxembourg).

If any consolation, the Milan-based Martinez got his first GM result and 600 euros.

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By Greg Heakes
Agence France-Presse

LAS VEGAS, Nevada–Luis Scola scored 27 points and collected nine rebounds as Argentina beat Brazil 91-80 to became the first team from the FIBA Americas Championship to punch their ticket to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Carlos Delfino also had 13 points, three steals and four assists for Argentina in the semi-final matchup in front of a crowd of about 2,000 at the Thomas and Mack Center arena.

“It has been a long week,” said Argentina head coach Sergio Hernandez. “I am very excited. Our third quarter today was our best.”

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